Kosmo Vinyl

Last updated
Kosmo Vinyl
Birth nameMark C. Dunk
Born (1957-02-09) 9 February 1957 (age 67)
England
Occupation(s)Record producer, manager
Years active197? – present

Kosmo Vinyl (born Mark C. Dunk, 9 February 1957, England) is a former longtime associate [1] [2] and sometime manager [3] for The Clash, as well as being associated with Ian Dury & the Blockheads, two seminal English bands of the 1970s and 1980s. He can be heard introducing The Clash at Shea Stadium on The Clash's live album, Live at Shea Stadium , as well as many bootlegged performances such as Kingston Advice. His impressionistic reading of quotes from Travis Bickle in the film Taxi Driver can be heard on The Clash's "Red Angel Dragnet".

Prior to his association with the Clash, he had acted as MC on the Stiff Records tours, appearing on the 1978 LP Live Stiffs Live .

He later became a record producer, producing records by Jack Logan and Drivin N Cryin. [4]

Vinyl was a music consultant on Gus Van Sant's 1989 film, Drugstore Cowboy , [5] and in 2013, helped produce a major retrospective exhibition of the art of Ian Dury, at The Royal College of Art in London. He debuted his own punk/pop inspired artwork dedicated to his beloved West Ham United Football Club with a London exhibit, followed by a show in Somerset in 2014 during the FIFA World Cup. In 2017 he designed the artwork for the Blockheads Single "Hold Up" and the album Beyond the Call of Dury. [6]

His first son, Jack, was born in 1991.

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Formed in 1977 to promote Ian Durys' album New Boots and Panties!! on the first Stiff Records tour of the UK, Chaz Jankel, Norman Watt-Roy, Charlie Charles, John Turnbull and Mick Gallagher became known as 'The Blockheads'. As 'Ian Dury & The Blockheads' they went back out on tour, this time without Jankel, and in 1978 released "What a Waste"/"Wake Up and Make Love with Me" a single that reached number five in the UK charts. They were then joined by saxophonist Davey Payne and toured the US supporting Lou Reed across North America, ending with their own dates in California.

References

  1. "HARP Magazine". harpmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  2. Gray, Marcus (October 2004). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town. ISBN   9780634082405.
  3. "The Clash: London Calling 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition Record Review". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2008-01-09.
  4. "Allmusic Credits for Kosmo Vinyl" . Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  5. Kosmo Vinyl at IMDb
  6. "Beyond the Call of Dury Archives - The Blockheads". The Blockheads.